MAKING HISTORY: A HOMECOMING' FOR PHILADELPHIA BAR CONVENTION
For the first time in more than 30 years, the Philadelphia Bar Association will bring its annual convention back to Philadelphia, when the city's legal community gathers for "Homecoming," the association's 33rd Annual Conference and Exposition which will open with a special, free-to-the-public seminar on "Hate Speech and the First Amendment" on Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the historic Friends Meeting House at 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia.
After the opening seminar, which will feature four nationally prominent speakers, including national ACLU President Nadine Strossen, the event-filled conference will continue for three more days, ending with the gala Andrew Hamilton Charity Ball on Saturday night, Nov. 23, in the Ballroom of the Hotel Atop the Bellevue. The ball, which is sponsored by the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, the association's charitable arm, will raise needed funds for the city's law-related public service programs.
More than 1,000 Philadelphia judges, lawyers, law clerks, paralegals, legal secretaries, law office administrators, law librarians, court reporters and their guests are expected to attend one or more portions of the many "Homecoming" events, which include the following:
-- Thursday, Nov. 21, Law Office Products and Services Exposition from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Ballroom at the Bellevue featuring more than 60 vendors showing the latest in law office services and technology;
-- Thursday, Young Lawyers luncheon at noon in the Rose Garden Room at the Bellevue, featuring Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Steve Lopez;
-- Friday, Nov. 22, Plenary Session at 8:30 a.m. in the Ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, focusing on the topic, "Philadelphia: The Next Four Years," and featuring an address by Philadelphia Bar Association member and Mayor-elect Edward G. Rendell. Rendell's remarks will be followed by a panel discussion with panelists Theodore Hershberg, director of the Center for Greater Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania; Dianne E. Reed, executive director of the Pennsylvania Economy League; Acel Moore, associate editor and columnist of The Philadelphia Inquirer; and Philadelphia City councilman-elect Joseph Vignola.
-- A special Bill of Rights luncheon on Friday at 12:30 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, featuring an address by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, as well as remarks by Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert N.C. Nix Jr.
According to Bar Association officials, the association's annual conference, which is expected to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business for the city, was brought back to Philadelphia this year "by popular demand." The theme "Homecoming" is designed to point out to the legal community the advantages and benefits of their own home base, while reminding Philadelphians of the vital role played by the legal community in the city's economy. It has been estimated that the city's law offices and related businesses employ more than 15,000 people and pay more than $60 million annually in local taxes.
CONTACT: Daniel A. Cirucci of the Philadelphia Bar Association, 215-238-6340.
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